Boy…was I relieved. Our pick up, Mr Tee arrived about 15 minutes later. Tee was a pleasant young chap who spoke reasonable amount of English.
Tee told us he will take us to the hotel to check in. Since it was almost noon we figured we had better get something to eat before we start our program for the day. I asked him if he could take us to lunch at a Muslim restaurant. He said ok and there was just one restaurant close to the hotel we were staying.
Chiangmai city was just a few minutes from the airport. It was a hot day. I guessed the temperature must be around 39 degrees and we could definitely feel the heat as we got into the van.
Our hotel the Central Duangtawan Hotel is in town. One of the criteria in hotel selection was that it has to be close to the night market. When I read the online review of this hotel being just steps away from the night market..obviously…this was the hotel of our pick.
So we checked into the hotel and then off to lunch.
Tom Yam and Steamed Fish Lunch
There restaurant was just a few blocks away from our hotel. An elderly lady greeted us when we walked in. We placed our orders of Tom Yam soup, steamed fish, vegetables and another dish (goshh…for the life of me I can’t remember what it was).
It was a good lunch and we were hungry. There was nothing better than having fresh coconut drink to wash down the food. Surprisingly, the food was very cheap if compared to any Thai restaurants in KL.
Tee came to fetch us an hour later. He explained that we will visit the Chiangmai National Museum and the Tribal Museum after this.
First stop - Chiangmai National Museum.
Located in the north of the city the museum features a range of displays and exhibits providing details of Chiang Mai’s Lanna era. The museum documents northern Thailand’s pre-history to present times and includes examples of ancient jewellery, kilns from the 14th-century, ancient art and Buddha images alongside weapons of the era.
The second floor of the building is dedicated to the Lanna era crafts and also shows ancient farming equipment and an excellent exhibition of photographs.
The trip to this museum was a good introduction about Chiangmai and its people. The only thing that was not too nice about the visit was that the place was not air conditioned. There were stand fans but the heat was way to challenging for us. We spent almost a good 30 mins here and then we were back in Tee’s van heading to our next destination.
Second stop – Tribal Museum
This museum is a three storey building situated in Ratchamankla Park. There are costumes, tools and art from all of the major northern hill tribes on display here.
Again the heat was taking a toll on us. We spent even a shorter period here. Got some interesting pictures and then off we were to Tee’s van which was nice and cooling.
In the van Tee asked us if we wanted to visit the Handicraft village. Well, since we did the museums earlier than we were supposed to, we still had time. So we all agreed to go for the visit.
San Kampaeng Road.
The largest and most popular of the local handicraft factories are situated along this 13 km stretch of the Chiang Mai – San Kampaeng Road. Both sides of the road are lined with factories and showrooms where you have the opportunity to observe the craftsmen and women at work and purchase their fine products.
Here we visited the Thai Silk factory and the cotton and silk weaving village. Jupe bought a couple of cute handbags from the Silk Factory. This place had some very colourful Thai silk materials. However, the price was not favorable to our budget. They were selling Thai silks at THB600 per meter, which is approximately RM60/meter. Goshhh…the price sure is steep..even in KL you could get these silks for RM40/meter.
So it was a no buy for most of us. Jupe bought a few cute handbags for souvenir….such colourful pieces. I think Raha bought something from this place too…but wasn’t too sure what she got.
Tee our driver took us to a jewelry shop. The shop was a shop specializing in jade. I knew this was going to be a “hotspot” for me. “Hotspot” meaning..there could possibly be some “retail damage” here. In my shopping list for this trip, I had as item number 5 in the list “something jade”.
So..true enough, I did my first credit card damage in this jewelry shop. I got myself a jade bangle and Muni bought a jade bracelet. We were both very happy.
Our Mr Tee was smiling outside the building as he ushered us to his van. Why wouldn’t he be smiling...he too would have a small commission due for collection from the shop. Well, I guess that’s how it goes.
Tee then took us to another jewelry shop. This shop claims to be the Worlds Biggest Jewelry Factory in Chiang Mai. It showcased rubies, sapphires - green, yellow and blue, diamonds and all other gem stones.
I am a real “sucker” for sapphires and I think it is written all over my face. The sales girl showed me stones after stones of sapphires. I was trying so hard to resist the temptations. In the end…I surrendered to this beautiful sapphire ring which had a design like Lady Diana’s wedding ring. How could I have said “No” to that!!
The sales girl was more than happy to swipe my credit card for me. Boy…am I glad that this is my OWN credit card and not those supplementary ones..where the other half also takes a look at the bill when it comes at the end of the month.
When we walked to Tee’s van, he was again smiling and we knew very well what the smile meant to him.
He then took us to the hotel. Tonight’s program was a dinner cruise on a boat on the Mae Ping river.
Mae Ping River Cruise
We were picked up by a driver from the cruise company. He made his rounds to several other places to pick up other guests who will join the cruise. We arrived at a nice restaurant by the river. There was a long boat and we figured that will be the “cruise” which we will take. Well…my expectation was different. I had expected a bigger boat and there would be music and others. Haa..haa…this ain’t no love boat lah!! I guess for the price we paid we are not complaining.
We were served with a few dishes. There was tomyam (again!!), a fish dish and some fried vegetables. Food was not too bad.
While we ate, the boat moved slowly upstream and we saw huts and local folks living the river bank. I was hoping the boat would move faster… Why?? Well, our eyes were almost closing already and we still haven’t hit the streets to SHOP!!!
After sometime on the agonizing boat ride, we finally made it back to the riverside restaurant. Boy…aren’t we glad!!!
The driver then drove us back to our hotel. Jupe was almost asleep when we got back to our hotel. She couldn’t take it any more…just wanted to hit the sack.
First Night Market Trip I was sleepy and tired too. But the neon lights from the night market were too inviting. So..the three of us, Muni, Raha & I..we headed for the market right away.
I attended a performance at the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas Concert Hall last night with my sister, her daughter Aliah and a few of my sister’s office friends. “Tango Fire” was a dancing and singing performance of by the group – Estampas Portenas.
The show started with the Milonga. By the way, what is the Milonga??
Roots all over
